Temperance Brennan, the FBI Whisperer
by goldpiece
Summary: After Booth ruins a date she's on, Tempe decides it's time to take drastic action to curb his alphamale behavior.


"Angela, I'm going to kill him," Temperance said as she stepped into her best friend's apartment. Angela ushered Brennan into the living room and sat her on the couch. Tempe was vaguely aware that the television was on, and showing something about misbehaving dogs.

"Your date was horrible?"

"No, he was great. It was Booth."

"What do you mean? You didn't take Booth along with you, did you?"

"No, but he showed up with Dr. Saroyan, apparently on a date of his own."

"So how did he…he didn't interrogate your date, did he?" Tempe looked at Angela and groaned. The artist began to laugh, not caring that she was receiving death glares from her best friend.

"The hostess sat him about three tables away, and he kept looking over at us while we ate. It didn't bother me at first, but when my date offered me a bite of his dinner, Booth came over and sat down, wanting to know more about him."

"Aw, sweetie, he was just protecting his female."

"I'm not his female, nor have I ever been his female. See, that's what I mean when I say he has alpha-male tendencies. He totally ruined my date, and I don't think I'm going to hear from the guy again."

"When he was interrogating your date, what were you doing?"

"Me? I sounded like a broken record. 'Booth, stop it. Knock it off Booth. Booth, leave him alone. Stop it, Booth.' Ugh. Why does he have to be so difficult?"

"So what happened with Cam, was she furious?"

"She calmly walked over, told him goodnight, and left."

"Does that mean they broke up? Oh, sweetie, this is good."

"Good? How is this good? He ruined my date, and his aggressive nature is getting the better of him. I swear, if he were a dog, he would have bitten my date."

"Bren, Booth is a big, good-looking, dominant male who sees you as his female. You aren't showing him that you're the pack leader, and if you want him in a more submissive role, you have to project a calm and assertive energy." Brennan looked at her best friend for a minute, stunned.

"Did you just compare me to a female dog?"

"What?" Angela looked at her friend, and then began to laugh. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I've been watching way too much of 'The Dog Whisperer'. It's just; he sometimes compares disciplining dogs and kids. The way you make it sound, you'd swear Booth was just defending his territory."

"The Dog Whisperer? What's that?"

"He's this guy out in California that comes in to help people solve their dog's behavioral issues."

"And this is a television show?"

"Yeah, it's on right now." Tempe turned to look at the television and watched as a large woman ran down the street after her dog. Temperance groaned when she heard the woman shouting out, 'Boo, come back here Boo. Come back. Don't you run away, Boo. Boo, stop it.'

"You don't mind if we watch a little of this, do you?"

"Of course not. I have to warn you though. It's addicting."

"Duly noted." She said as she began to watch the show.

XxXxX

Brennan walked into the Jeffersonian the next morning, a smile gracing her lips. The information she gleaned from the show the night before would definitely come in handy. And apparently, it would come in to play sooner than she thought. As she opened the door to her office, Booth bounded out of it, practically sticking a file in her face.

"Bones, we have a case." _Rule number one, when greeting, do not make eye contact, or acknowledge their presence. That is the way that you come into a room and claim the space as your own._ Temperance strode over to her desk and set down her purse. Booth looked at her, stunned. How could she just ignore him like that? He had a case for her and everything. When he looked back over to her, she pointed to a chair opposite her desk.

"Sit." Booth looked at her for a moment, and then sat down in the chair.

"Gee, it's good to see you too, Bones." Booth groused. When Temperance held out her hand for the file, he handed it over before leaning back in the seat and putting his feet on the edge of her desk. _Rule number two, when inappropriate behavior occurs, correct it immediately. A pack leader will never let the others get out of line, and as the pack leader, neither can you._ Temperance smacked the back of Booth's legs lightly with her hand and made a sound something akin to 'pfsht'. The FBI agent dropped his feet back onto the floor and sat up in his chair. "What has gotten into you today?"

"Nothing's gotten in to me. Tell me about the case," Temperance said as she flipped

open the file.

"Some remains were found inside a state park by a pair of hikers, you know, the usual. The remains have been there for some time, there are no real flesh bits to speak of, so they've called on us to figure out what happened."

"Fine, let me get my kit together, and we can head out." She looked up at him before setting down the file and leaving her office. Booth watched her go before shaking his head. Something was definitely up with Temperance, and he was bound and determined to figure out what it was.

XxXxX

"The remains are just up ahead here," the young park ranger, Jake Brody said as they made their way down a wooded trail.

"Have any of the remains been moved at all?" Temperance asked as she stepped over a log. Booth helped her up and over the large log, which earned him a smile from the forensic anthropologist.

"No. I've heard how meticulous you are and made sure to keep everything the way you like it." Jake looked back at Tempe for a moment, offering her a wink. Booth frowned.

"Thank you. I only wish more people were as understanding as you."

"Well, I have a confession to make. When I heard you were being called in, I volunteered to meet you. I've read your books, and must say that if you're even half as interesting as your heroine, then you'd have to be a near perfect woman."

"Hey, hey, this is a work environment," Booth snapped. He'd seen enough of the flirting. _Rule number three, he sees you as his female, and is trying to defend what he sees as his property. Do not take a submissive role, or the situation will escalate._Brennan turned to Booth and smacked him lightly on the arm, making the 'pfsht' sound again. He looked at her, opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. Tempe smirked when she turned back around. As much as she hated psychology, this seemed to be working really well. With any luck, she could curb his aggressive streak and keep it that way.

XxXxX

Back at the lab, Booth paced, irritated. Within the course of the past several hours, Tempe had continually smacked his arm, as if checking him for bad behavior. It was really beginning to get to him, and he could feel the pent up frustration building to a breaking point.

"I examined the particulates found on the bones, and they don't match those found at the remains site. Whoever this was, they were moved after death," Hodgins said as he scanned onto the examination platform.

"And I suppose that's going to make you automatically assume that there was a conspiracy involved in some way, huh?" Booth snapped. Everyone in the lab looked at him, but he didn't care. He needed some outlet for his anger. The only place he was refusing to look was at Brennan.

"Oh come on man, you're in the FBI. You of all people cannot tell me that the government doesn't hide things."

"National Security."

"My ass. You can't tell me that Roswell wasn't a conspiracy to hide the wreckage of an alien vessel."

"The only thing found in Roswell was an army experiment that crashed. There are no little green men visiting. They never have, and never will."

"Dude, you've been in the middle of conspiracies. We've helped solve some of them! You know the government is lying!"

"Paranoid theorist!" The two men took steps toward each other. _Rule number four, when aggression begins to surface, take action immediately. They can go from a level one to a level ten in seconds._ Brennan grabbed one wrist of each of the guys and brought them to the floor. Angela and Cam gasped, while Zack watched, his eyes huge.

"Dr. Brennan, what are you doing?" Dr. Saroyan finally was able to speak. Temperance looked at her boss, calmly while the two men writhed, trying to shake her off.

"I'm just keeping the situation from escalating."

"Let them go, now."

"No, not until they're more submissive." The two women locked gazes, neither one wavering in their stance. Hodgins began to whimper, and then stopped fighting to gain control. Temperance let go of him, and he stood, quickly moving away from her.

"Oh man, what have I created?" Angela muttered under her breath. Temperance looked at her friend, who quickly turned back to her sketch pad.

"Bones, okay, ow. Let go please. Ow." Booth struggled to free himself, not wanting to do anything to hurt Brennan.

"Are you done fighting?"

"Yes. Ow. Please let go." Brennan let go of his wrist and returned to the remains. Everyone on the team looked from one to another before promptly returning to their jobs. Cam stepped up next to Brennan and looked at her sternly.

"Dr. Brennan, may I please see you in my office."

"If this is in regards to what just happened, you can talk to me here. Let me just assure you Dr. Saroyan, that had I not just acted then the situation would have escalated, and I think you know that. I was merely trying to maintain a balanced work environment."

"You seem to think very little of your colleagues if you think they would have started fighting."

"I have a great deal of esteem for them, but even I can see when a fight is brewing."

"Yeah, and usually you're the cause," Booth muttered. One look from Temperance, and he backed down. Cam looked at her team before finally sighing.

"One more attack like that and you'll be taking some unpaid vacation. Do I make myself clear, Dr. Brennan?"

"Of course." The two women exchanged glances one more time before Cam left the platform for her office.

XxXxX

Tempe very carefully placed the new television onto a stand. While she was all for independence, there still were a few things that men were good at, and handling heavy electronics was one of them. She had the cable guy stop by earlier in the day to hook up cable, so it was ready to go with the new television set. After a brief struggle to straighten it out and connect the wiring, she sat down on her couch and turned on the National Geographic Channel. She didn't want to miss the show. Angela had been right when she'd said that it was addicting.

Just as it came on the air, there was a knock at the door. With a sigh, Tempe stood up. Who could possibly be here now? To her surprise, it was Booth.

"You wanna tell me what that was all about today with the wrist grabbing and hitting my arm repeatedly?" Booth pushed past her and into the apartment. Temperance frowned. _Jumping onto people and pushing them around is rude and unacceptable. Take corrective action immediately._

"Booth, I don't believe I've invited you inside yet." Tempe grabbed hold of his shirt with every intention of dragging Booth back out to the hallway, but was surprised when she found herself heading toward the floor. In a last ditch attempt to keep her ground, Brennan grabbed hold of Booth with both hands, sending them both crashing to the floor.

"No, don't try anything. I'm sick of this aggressive thing you've been pulling today, and I want to know what's going on." Brennan pushed up on him slightly and wriggled to get into a better position to see his face.

"You ruined my date."

"That's what all this is about? Your date?"

"Booth, you had no right to interrogate him the way you did. I'm not your female, and there's no reason for you to have done that."

"Will you be seeing him again?" 

"What? Thanks to you, no. I can't believe you did that, I really can't. I thought you had more respect for me than that. You were even going to jump down that State Trooper's throat if I hadn't stopped you." Temperance shifted again, trying to free her legs from the crushed position under Booth's body. As she pulled her legs from under him, he slipped down. It was then that their position became obvious. They were nose to nose, and his big, broad-shouldered body was settled directly between Tempe's legs.

"You do know there's one thing you can do to get me to stop interrogating your dates, don't you?" His lips were mere millimeters away from her own.

"Oh, and what's that?" _Remember the three principals: exercise, discipline, and then affection._

XxXxX

Temperance came into the medico-legal lab, a big grin on her face, and slightly late. Angela, of course took notice. If Temperance was late, then it could mean only one thing.

"So you were able to get back in touch with your date I see," the artist grinned. Tempe looked at her and shook her head, the smile never leaving.

"No, actually I didn't hear from him."

"Oh, then why the goofy grin?"

"Let's just say that Booth was a really good boy last night."


End file.
